Fantasy Football

In-season roster management is key to winning your fantasy football league, but the draft goes a long way towards determining the champ. Value is the most important word when it comes to the draft. Here are a few tips to stay a few moves ahead of your competitors.

Let’s not kid ourselves: a kicker is not going to win you a fantasy title. But in a tight match-up, you’ll take all the points you can get. All of these players are last-round selections, but you might as well have a strategy for crafting your kicker rankings.

One of last year’s top fantasy receivers, Josh Gordon, is facing a season-long suspension, but there are still plenty of talented wideouts to choose from. These players are studs no matter the scoring system.

Quarterbacks are breaking records left and right in the pass-happy NFL, but that makes high-caliber running backs all the more valuable. Many of last season’s top performers appear on this list, but keep in mind there’s usually a major bust or two, likely due to the heavy workload of the position causing a hangover effect.

If you’re not only ranking players, but also grouping them in tiers, tight ends are an interesting test case. Jimmy Graham is a one-man tier, with Gronkowski and Julius Thomas, both potential second-round picks, in the next group.

Will new “points of emphasis,” which may limit how defensive backs defend receivers, affect the physical Seahawks? Check back at midseason for an answer. For now, there’s no reason to think the Seahawks will surrender the top spot.

It’s a poorly-kept secret that the Seattle Seahawks don’t mind taking a penalty flag or two for pass interference or defensive holding in exchange for five or six no-calls on borderline plays. Supposedly, the NFL will be cracking down on physical play in the defensive backfield. If true-and that’s a big if-it could mean even bigger numbers for the quarterbacks.

For many football fans, Week 16 of the season is even bigger than the Super Bowl because it is their personal Super Bowl. It is the week with money on the line. Week 16 is the week fantasy football champions are crowned.

With fantasy drafts now in full swing, would-be owners are scrambling to unlock the secrets of this year’s draft. To that end, let’s take a closer look at who might be the best QB option this year in fantasy: Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees.